B&W infrared - some ? \'s

[barondla]

I am wanting to try some B&W infrared with the E300. I have the Hoya 72 filter. So I have a couple of questions. The kit lenses don\'t have a ir focus mark. If I stop down the lenses to f16-22 will that make up the difference? Do DZ lenses with distance scales have ir mark? I could also use the OM lenses with since they have the ir focus mark. Has anyone done any ir with the E300? It seems to pass the remote test.
thanks
barondla

[admin_old]

this was Cokin IR filter, on the 11-22 lens. Just set it at like F 7, and on a tripod....
And let it take it. Don\'t know any special settings.
http://tspore.smugmug.com/photos/29469409-M.jpg

[mikefellh]

Check out this page about E-series IR photography:

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/infrared/e300.html

Mike

[First Light]

Hi barondla,

A comparison between legacy OM lenses and the ZD lenses is invalid with regard to IR. There is nothing in a film camera (like the Olympus OM models) to prevent them being used for IR photography. All you need is an IR filter on the lens to block most of the visible (non-IR light) and a film with good IR sensitivity.

Digital cameras are a very different animal. Almost all of them include an internal IR-blocking filter to protect the image sensor from IR light. This is because most image sensors are very sensitive to IR light and IR light can have a harmful effect on the picture quality for normal visible-light photography.

When you attempt to use a digital camera for IR photography, you are attempting to use a camera that is designed to block IR light. That\'s why lenses designed for digital cameras (like ZD lenses) do not have IR marks.

With the above understanding in mind, it is possible to use a digital camera for IR photography. Why? Because the internal IR-blocking filters are not 100% efficient. They allow a little bit of IR light to get through. So if you block the visible light with an IR filter on the lens, you may have enough IR light to get an exposure. But you\'ll have to use a slow shutter speed so expect to use a tripod and, depending on your FOV, the antishock mode (mirror lock up).

Lastly, a few manufacturers have offered special IR versions of their digital cameras. They simply leave the IR-blocking filter off which makes the camera great for IR photography. I haven\'t followed this niche market so I can\'t recommend any manufacturers or models.

[jebir]

Barondla,

apart from IR-film in the old OM-days, I have only experience with the E-1 and the 14-54mm lens but, assuming that Olympus uses the same core technology in the E-300/14-45 combo, it should work in a similar way for that camera.
While the CCD-image sensor is protected from IR, the autofocus and light metering sensors are not. So, with an IR-filter mounted, it means that the camera\'s autofocus still works very nicely. So, you don\'t have to worry about the focus scale because the camera does the focusing using IR.
However, regarding the metering, there will be a large discrepancy between the indicated exposure and the one actually needed. My experience with the E-1 is that you must multiply the exposure time indicated by the camera by a factor 100. So if you use M-mode and the camera tells you that you should use 1/200 sec., the true exposure time will then be more like 2 seconds.

Other tips:
Use a tripod
Cover the viewfinder when exposing

Cheers, Jens.

Post edited by: jebir, at: 2005/09/20 01:46

[barondla]

If there is a difference in the focus point of ir light and \"standard\" light the camera would have to have a compensation focus factor in it since it is using ir to focus something we shoot in normal light. In the old days we used the ir mark on the lens barrel. So even though the E300 will focus through the ir filter I don\'t see how it can really be right. It could be close enough if you stop the lens down. Am I looking at this wrong?
thanks
barondla

[jebir]

barondla wrote:
If there is a difference in the focus point of ir light and \"standard\" light the camera would have to have a compensation focus factor in it since it is using ir to focus something we shoot in normal light. In the old days we used the ir mark on the lens barrel. So even though the E300 will focus through the ir filter I don\'t see how it can really be right. It could be close enough if you stop the lens down. Am I looking at this wrong?
thanks
barondla

Barondla,

you are indeed looking on it in the wrong way. Think like this:
In the old days:
Your eye-brain-hand was the AF-system. You used it with visible light to focus but then when you put on the IR filter, you had to make a shift due to the focal plane for IR being different from that of visible light (that you used to find focus).
In modern days:
You put on the IR filter and the camera\'s AF system does the focusing with IR light. Since that is the same light as you want to capture, there is no difference in focal plane position between the focusing and the exposure of the CCD.

Cheers, Jens

[Den]

Just surfed in on this conversation - so, did we decide whether E-1\'s could do IR?

Den

[jebir]

Den wrote:
Just surfed in on this conversation - so, did we decide whether E-1\'s could do IR?

Den

Yes it can.

Cheers, Jens.